Davis’ connection to Takeo Spikes and Willie Anderson goes deeper than their membership in the Bengals’ Auburn draft club, which numbers 11. Davis and his “big brother” Spikes were All-SEC linebackers for the Tigers 21 years apart. Davis and “Stew Meat” Anderson played their prep football at Vigor.

“I was sitting there in front of the TV the entire time watching the draft and hoping my name was going to get a phone call, and I never did," Davis said. "The moment I stepped away from the TV and was almost at a point to give up, my phone started ringing. It was nothing but God, man. I truly feel like this was the place where I needed to be just by the way that it happened.”

After Cincinnati drafted Davis, Anderson told Bengals' backers that their new linebacker would become a "#FanFavorite."

Because of the Auburn-linebacker connection, Cincinnati reporters in a draft-night conference call asked Davis if he knew Spikes.

“Takeo is my big brother, man," Davis said. "We have a really, really, really good relationship. … Coming from Auburn, me and him built a strong relationship, and going to play for the Bengals like he did, it’s only going to get stronger. He’s a guy that I lean on for wisdom -- football-wise and even off the field, because besides being a good football player, he’s a great man. There are a lot of things that he did in his game that I try to put in my game.”

Anderson entered the NFL as the 10th player picked in the 1996 draft. For the next 12 seasons, Anderson played right offensive tackle for Cincinnati, earning four Pro Bowl invitations and three first-team All-Pro selections.

Spikes entered the NFL as the 13th player picked in the 1998 draft. Over the next 15 seasons, Spikes started 215 games and made 1,425 tackles -- both the most for an Auburn alumnus in NFL history. Spikes spent his first five seasons with Cincinnati before leaving for the Buffalo Bills in free agency in 2003.

Davis entered the NFL as the 210th player picked in the 2019 draft. But Spikes said Davis' sixth-round designation won't prevent him from succeeding in the NFL.

“What you expect out of Deshaun Davis is not only will he be accountable for himself, but he will hold everybody else accountable," Spikes told the Bengals’ official website. "And consistency. …

“The beautiful thing about him is he’s advanced from the mental side of it. Mentally he’s there. I’m happy the Bengals gave him an opportunity to fill a spot, and I do believe he can fill a spot.”

Cincinnati is expecting Preston Brown at middle linebacker and Nick Vigil at strongside linebacker to reclaim starting spots after injuries limited them to seven and 10 starts, respectively, in 2018.

After seven turbulent seasons, the Bengals released Vontaze Burfict this offseason after an NFL suspension and injuries limited him to seven games in 2018.

Cincinnati has Hardy Nickerson Jr., who started seven games in 2018, and Jordan Evans, who started five last season, coming back, and the Bengals used a third-round selection on North Carolina State linebacker Germaine Pratt.

Davis and Pratt started work with Cincinnati over the weekend at the Bengals' rookie minicamp.

“That guy is fun to be around,” Cincinnati linebackers coach Tem Lukabu said about Davis. “The No. 1 thing is that he commands the huddle. That guy’s a Mike. He wants to call the plays. He wants to be the signal-caller. You don’t always see that.

"Great instincts. Very good recall. He asks all the right questions.”

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